Kodak Brownie Reflex (1940–1952)

The Brownie Reflex is one of the more interesting cameras in Kodak's long-running Brownie line. It's a twin-lens reflex built from simple Bakelite. It was introduced in May 1940 and produced in the US until August 1942, and production resumed after the war. The Synchro Model added flash synchronization. It was made from roughly 1941 to 1952 in the US, and until 1960 in the UK, where it was introduced in 1946. The original price was around $6.95, or roughly $125 in today's money.

It shot 12 exposures on 127 film, producing 4×4cm images (1 5/8 × 1 5/8 inches). The lens was a fixed-focus meniscus type, sharp enough from five feet to infinity, with a fixed aperture. The simple rotary shutter offered instantaneous (about 1/30 sec) and bulb settings. The viewfinder used a second-surface keystone reflecting mirror under a hinged sheet-metal cover. It was a cheap way to give you the TLR experience without the cost of a ground-glass focusing screen.

Surviving information on this model is thin. No original manual or period review appears in the archive, and the sources that do mention the camera are mostly collector listings and photo-sharing sites. The Synchro Model is the variant most commonly found today, and its street value is described as "very low." These were mass-produced, utilitarian cameras, and they remain plentiful and inexpensive. They are not precision instruments.

Known specs, as documented:

- Film: 127 roll film, 12 exposures

- Picture size: 4×4 cm

- Lens: fixed-focus meniscus, 5 ft to infinity

- Shutter: rotary, 1/30 sec and B

- Aperture: fixed

- Body: Bakelite

- Viewfinder: reflecting mirror type with hinged metal cover